Empty Talks with Heartbeat

“You have to bring food to give to your friends for Children’s Day Party. What would you like to bring?” I asked Heartbeat as we went out of the carpark this morning.

“Tam Tam,” he answered, not missing a beat. “And apple,” he added a little later.

“Tam Tam? You really want to bring Tam Tam?” I half-laughed imagining the chocolate biscuit. And then some seconds later realized he meant the crab snack. “But I don’t think your teacher will let you bring Tam Tam. But apple is OK.”

“And mango. And papaya,” he went on.

“What about peanut butter sandwich?”

“And bread and jam. And bread and butter.”

The list continued to grew so I said, “Maybe we should just pick one.”

“Bread and jam. Because I like it.” He giggled.

“You know, when you are giving someone something, you should always think about what they like. Not what *you* like.” I said, giving him the lesson even we, adults, miss a lot of the time. “What does your friends like?”

“Vegetables.”

I laughed out. Dude, your friends can blame you later if all they got for their party is steamed broccoli.

“But Ian likes durian. Omak, I think we should get Ian durian.”

Totally cannot imagine a durian Children’s Day Party.

But it has been fun talking to Heartbeat lately, he’s really chatty and funny.